Summer of 2012 is barely over and we’re already running headlong into the holiday season with this new trailer for A Christmas Story 2.  The official sequel is (thankfully) going straight to Blu-ray/DVD and you can pick it up with the original in a combo two-pack (only on DVD) on October 30th.  The follow-up film once again centers on Ralphie, his family and friends on the approach to yet another Christmas.  In the true spirit of the holiday, A Christmas Story 2 seeks to feed off of the nostalgia for the original film like a parasite and trick you into wasting your hard-earned money.  Season’s greetings!

Directed by Brian Levant (Jingle All the Way - which I actually liked…), A Christmas Story 2 stars Braeden Lemasters (Easy A) as Ralphie with Stacey Travis (Ghost World) playing the mother and Daniel Stern (Home Alone) as the Old Man.  (C’mon, Stern.  I know times are tough, but you can do better!)  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Paul Haggis seems to have two gears as a filmmaker: thoughtful or sanctimonious. There’s no denying that he was one of the ingredients that made the Daniel Craig Bond films a step above the works that came before, and his In the Valley of Elah wasn’t a great film, but it was definitely an advance on Crash. Sanctimonious Haggis is the guy who made Crash, a very self-important film about how people relate in Los Angeles. Also in the “S” category is the writer of Million Dollar Baby. This is a guy who can’t help but dot the I’s and cross his T’s when it comes to spelling things out.

The most appealing thing about The Next Three Days was that Haggis was no longer making award bait, but a thriller with Russell Crowe playing the determined husband of Elizabeth Banks. Banks is convicted of murder and after all their appeals are denied, he figures the only way to get her out of jail is to break her out. This puts Haggis in more Bond mode, and with a great cast that also includes Olivia Wilde, Liam Neeson and Brian Dennehy. What better way for Haggis to not be weighed down with heady issues? And yet The Next Three Days bombed, and home video does it no favors. The review of The Next Three Days on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Opening today is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” and it’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Andrew Wilson, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can see Eve and Andrew Wilson talk about being at the Festival, working for Drew Barrymore, the sport of Roller Derby, and what they have coming up. Take a look:

In the sport of Roller Derby, sometimes you need to “throw a hit”, which is exactly what it sounds like.  In her directorial debut, Drew Barrymore fails to throw a hit but “Whip It” scrapes out a victory on the strength of its characters, its script, and its lovely and talented lead, Ellen Page.

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, I had the chance to interview most of the cast at the Toronto Film Festival and you can watch my interview with Juliette Lewis after the jump. In the film, Juliette plays Iron Maven, the leader of a rival roller derby squad.

Anyway, while some interviews just focus on the film at hand, the one you’re about to watch is a good one. That’s because for days leading up to this interview I had barely slept and Juliette and I spent the first few minutes talking about how that changes you. Of course we also talked about the movie and how she has a few other films coming up, so if you’re curious where Juliette’s been for the last few years, this interview will answer your questions. Take a look:

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can watch my interview with the star of the film, Ellen Page. She talks about being at the Toronto Film Festival and what it’s like for her, social networking, and while she couldn’t talk about the story of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”, I did get her to tell me what it’s like working for the great director. Take a look:

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can see Alia Shawkat and Landon Pigg talk about being at the Festival, working for Drew Barrymore, the sport of Roller Derby, Rock Band/Guitar Hero, and Alia talks about the “Arrested Development” movie and “The Runaways”. Look for more “Whip It” interviews this week:

Take Drew Barrymore: Mix in some of her feel-good friend fare, her experiences and appreciation of all things 80s, some of Hollywood’s most kick-ass girls, and rollerskates, and you’ll come up with “Whip It.” An ’80s film for a new millennium, “Whip It” is rough, fun, and hip-checkingly girly. Hit the jump to learn more about Barrymore’s directorial debut.

Opening on October 2^nd is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, and Alia Shawkat and it’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby. To help promote the film, I’ve been provided with 5 clips and you can watch them after the jump. Take a look:

Tim Burton made a surprise appearance at the D23 Expo to display a 3-D teaser for his upcoming “Alice in Wonderland” feature, and announce his follow up project to be a stop-motion adaptation of “Frankenweenie,” one of the short films he made prior to his rookie feature-length directorial effort in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.”  More weenie after the jump.

Fox Searchlight has released the poster for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film premieres at next month’s Toronto Film Festival and it’ll be released everywhere on October 2^nd. I’ll be covering TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) so you can expect a lot of coverage next month on the site. Until then, take a look at the new poster and images after the jump:

I’m rooting for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” for several reasons.  First, talented female directors are in short supply so I’m hoping Barrymore is about to join their ranks.  Second, I think it’s got a great cast and now that Ellen Page had her breakthrough with “Juno”, she needs to show the mainstream (many of whom, sadly, did not see “Hard Candy”) that she’s not just a one-hit wonder but that she’s a serious actress who’s here to stay.  Third, it shows that Daniel Stern is still alive, so that’s nice.  And finally, I’ve never seen a film which features female roller derby so that will be cool.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer “Whip It” hits theatres on October 9th.